


Golden Rain

by Aumar



Series: Messing about [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Chapsticks, Cosmetics, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Grooming, M/M, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:55:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aumar/pseuds/Aumar
Summary: Sherlock always figures out problems,save for those about himself
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Series: Messing about [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731004
Kudos: 7





	Golden Rain

December had just come by with two weeks fleeting with speed as everyone thought of Christmas closing in,crossing dates on calendars. Winds blew just as fast,branches of trees swayed and clashed against each other and the roads remained busy as ever,the only exception being the fairy lights strung up on the apartments reflecting in the snow fall that had just begun. The consulting detective had little interest,his eyes and hands fixed on his phone,instructing Molly about taking out his samples from the freezer till he got to Bart's.

Molly did as what was told and went back to finishing data entries for bodies just in the mortuary.On her way down she bumped into a tall figure and tensed up a little before relaxing her posture,"Hello there." she smiled at Sherlock,whose face was flushed due to the cold and his hair looked greasy,the stringy curls were straighter at the tips she thought,snapped out of her admiration when his mouth opened to speak.

Why were the lips oddly pink? she questioned herself,getting lost in her reverie again.

"Could you bring me some Lead Iodide and Potassium Nitrate from upstairs? Got to do something with it." Sherlock blinked twice at her,she nodded and went upstairs. Right then,he thought to himself and busied himself with the samples,shifting the microscope's focus every now and then. His mouth was taut,lips pressed into a thin line as he picked up a petri dish and set it down under the yellow light,his mouth felt funny for not having uttered a word since he began testing,he was sure it couldn't be bad breath or plague as he checked with his tongue darting around the teeth. 

Something on the inside caught on and Sherlock out of impulse chewed on it,tasting nothing but gathering even more bits of flakes on the seam of his lips. He pushed back his chair to recline,frowning at the irritating flakes that had accumulated on his mouth and licked his lips,generously coating them with saliva. Moisture would help seal the cracks,he dismissed the issue and noted observations.

The saliva dried out sooner than what he thought and new flakes had come up,he chewed up some of them and one on the corners was difficult to reach with his teeth,he washed his hands and using the little nails he had to run over the corner of his mouth,feeling satisfied when a long peel of pale skin was ripped away,laving his tongue over the spot to feel a little sting. Sherlock set the long peeled skin in fascination on a clean dish and was back at it,the nails continuously snagging on little bits that turned out to be long peels of skin from his lower lip.

The immersion into skin peeling broke when Molly set down the chemicals he requested for on the table with a loud clunk,"Here you go,I'm going home now. Call me if you need anything more?"

Sherlock put one hand on the dish's contents casually with outstretched fingers,leaning a little towards Molly so she wouldn't notice,"Oh yes,thank you." His other hand was still on his mouth, feeling the uneven texture with a pad of his thumb.  
Molly noted the the color of the lips had changed again,a little too raw pink on the inside while the outside turned paler in comparison,she blinked out of her stare,"You're welcome,"she said with some warmth,noticing he had chapped lips from the cold and rolling out her Rum flavored chapstick on herself,"The skin slides aren't going to do you any good Sherlock,"she chided before turning away,"take care of yourself!" and went to the main exit.

"Um," The detective uttered to himself in the empty room,puzzled at Molly's observational skills and began packing up the chemicals to take home in his coat pockets,being careful so as to not spill anything on his beloved Belstaff. On the ride home,he wondered what did Molly put on herself before leaving Bart's,then the flakes came again and he was very pleased to kill his boredom with more skin peelings.

He paid off the Cabbie and grabbed his chemicals before shedding off his coat,while outside may have been biting cold,Baker street was inhabited by warmth and some food items always being cooked at any time of the day. John had returned from his last shift before Christmas break and maybe the criminals too had got a break to be jolly during this time of the year,he stepped into 221B and stretched by the fire. John hummed and stood up,making a bee line for the kitchen to make tea for both of them while Sherlock sat by the fireplace like a content housecat,sprawled over his chair.

The flat only had the sounds of a kettle boiling and the wood cracking once or twice in the fire,Sherlock raised his arm from his lap to run his thumb over his lips again but the suit jacket had gotten a little stuck and hindered him in doing so,with a grunt he got up for a shower,there he'd pick at the skin for as long as he wanted. How fascinating he thought,feeling like a reptile who was shedding off his old skin when a light ache in his temples began building up,he grabbed his robe and splashed his face with cold water,the hair had become too straight and it didn't budge when Sherlock ruffled his fingers through it,a waxy sort of grease did come up on his fingers though.

With a scoff he got to ridding his scalp of the natural oils,forgetting about the skin peels for now.

John was delighted to see an empty chair and sounds of water splashing from the bathroom,the modern day sleuth had dismissed showering as "Tedious" or something he'd procrastinate till his body would scream at him. John thought it did already,when he saw the thick curls that always had a healthy shine to them had become matted and straightened due to greasiness,the cold must have done something too to his hair. Sherlock did keep his mouth pressed shut very tight and two bottles of chemicals,perhaps Mycroft confronted him about a case? God hope not,he could use some Christmas holidays sleeping like dead and getting hammered on eggnog. Shopping had to be done too,he smiled to himself and started thinking of what to gift Mrs Hudson,Molly,Lestrade and Sherlock. That was a good thinking activity till he wondered about the chemicals again,reaching out a hand just to see what did he bring home and most importantly,why.

"Don't snoop through my stuff John. Isn't that rude?" a voice boomed from a little opening of the bathroom door,Sherlock's little eyes zeroing on John's tentative hand and he stepped out,rubbing his neck with a small towel and fastened his dress robe to not slip down. John retreated his arm back,held both hands up as surrender before getting the tea cups.

Sherlock ran his thumb on his bottom lip,feeling little bumps and stings on reaching the seam of his lips. Grabbing the two bottles and setting them on the kitchen countertop he saw John again pouring steaming tea into their respective cups,putting the chemicals down,his eyes met John's "I didn't mean to snoop through,I was curious." John admitted sheepishly.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Sherlock murmurs.

"And satisfaction brought it back alive," John completes the proverb with a smirk,not many people knew the full proverbs and how much their meanings changed,"Lead Iodide and Potassium Nitrate eh? Fancy whipping up a cocktail of that?"

Sherlock takes his tea with a shrug to the fireplace,blowing over the clouds of steam that billowed over his teacup. John sits in his armchair,the union jack pillow wedged behind his back for support and sips his tea in relish. His flatmate on the other hand tried a sip and felt like it burnt his tongue,he tries again and winces,nearly dropping his tea onto his robe before his hands find themselves onto the lips again,tongue laving over the burns but making it a hundred times worse,a high whine tumbles out of his throat,he needed the tea! He had showered nicely,his hair took so long to clean even! 

"Everything alright?" John asks,seeing Sherlock so jittery.

"Yes it is fine." Could he tell John that was infact a reptile who had started shedding skin? Would that mean Mrs Hudson would kick him out of the flat?

"Of course its not fine," John chittered,clicking his tongue on noticing bright cherry red spots on his friend's lips and dry skin sticking out everywhere,"Take care of yourself."

Sherlock furrowed his brows,why was everyone telling him that?  
"But you see John, I am perfectly fine. I'm not turning into a reptile and Mrs Hudson won't kick me out." he babbled without thinking and John squinted at him,he clasped a hand to his mouth in horror upon seeing John's face and about what he said to him and ran to his bedroom,slamming the door shut.

"Sherlock!" John called after him,getting up with his abandoned tea cup to knock on his door. Something was being being thrown ,definitely a book John could tell.

Sherlock was in a dilemma,should he tell John that he was going through Metamorphosis? What kind of lips would take place after the shedding had stopped? Would John be not comfortable living with an advanced human being such as himself? He stopped his pacing to sit on his bed with his fingers steepled under his chin,this was a fairly interesting topic. He'd like his new bottom lip to come out a little thinner so it could match his top lip without looking odd,or his top lip to become fuller? Sherlock let out a small huff when his door opened.

John cleared his throat on seeing Sherlock's eyes zeroing on his body and kept his tea cup on the bedside table,"I wouldn't mind if you became a dragon,why did you run?" he said mildly humoring him,then regretted that when Sherlock's eyes became more defensive and he became more tense,staring wistfully at the tea cup.

"I can't drink the tea." He blurted out.

"Why not? You always do when I make it," John asked,feeling extremely confused when his friend looked at him with enormous guilt,his bottom lip on the verge of bleeding,"is it because of your mouth?"

Sherlock's eyes widened with fear,"How could you possibly know that?" his voice wavered halfway and he swallowed a couple of times.

John blinked rapidly and reached out a hand to his face slowly,as if he were trying to pet a large black cat that'd been extremely hostile and rested his hand on Sherlock's face,reveling at how smooth the skin felt against his rough hand before putting some pressure on the edge on his mouth with as much clinical deattachment as he could show,"The bottom lip's in an awful state and the skin is trying to heal but it is tender." John removed his hand to drop it on his knee and Sherlock nearly leaned into the touch.

"The tea surely irritated the skin and you were not able to drink it,as simple as that."

Sherlock winced a little when he tried to speak,his temples throbbing even more after the shower,"But John-"

"Do you still want the tea?" John knew the hot beverage was a saving grace,being a natural stimulant to keep Sherlock off any substances. If the whole Christmas no killer had stepped up their game the detective would blow up a wall in their shared flat. Nevertheless,John liked making tea in the flat as if it was his little unassigned assigned role.

Sherlock nodded and got onto checking his phone for messages while John came back with a flask having a rubber sipper on top containing tea. He took it with relief visible in his eyes and took a long slurp,the tea had cooled down a little and was delightful,John knew the correct ratio of water with milk and frankly Mrs Hudson's tea making was secondary to this. "Thank you John," he got up from his position with a relaxed posture,"I want to show you something pretty.' his voice had become small as he went to the kitchen and began cleaning the test tubes.

"What could be pretty with those chemicals?" John asked,becoming curious as he stood by him,pleased to see him back into a good mood.

"Just you wait," He chuckled and tapped the two test tubes with clear fluid,"Watch closely!" was all he said before pouring the fluids together in a dish.

John gawked at the shining golden substance that had bloomed out of the chemicals he had poured with a ghastly smell,the substance glimmered and turned into a solid rock. Sherlock picked it up with a proud ,"Ha! This is Lead Nitrate John,made by a double displacement reaction of those two chemicals Molly got me,its known as Gold Dust because well." he shrugged and John let out a giggle,"Can I touch it? It's fantastic!"

Sherlock handed him the golden rock with a grin and saw the snowflakes falling out,their shape and form so well defined that he was itching to go outside. Probably get some on his tongue like he used to do ages ago,Mycroft warned him about diseases from raw snow and how high the concentration of Sulphur Dioxide and Nitric oxides they contained,out of spite he had to get some on his tongue.

John rotated the rock in his hands with a grin and brought it to the living room,placing it neatly next to Sherlock's acquired skull,"Never knew the shiny rocks would be so pretty." he murmured and saw Sherlock head downstairs.

"Er no,you are not stepping out in that weather today Sherlock!" Mrs Hudson patted at the young man's back and he turned, eyes scanning her to see tiny bits of wrapping take stuck to her elbows before John scooted down the stairs and gave Mrs Hudson a small smile as he steered Sherlock up the stairs backwards, his eyes still on her.

"What was that about?"

Sherlock huffed again and sat down, "She's got us gifts John." He purred.

"We'll get her something too,no need to fret about that eh?"

"Not just her,there's Lestrade and Molly and you." his voice mumbled at mentioning John and he looked down to his nails.

Did Sherlock just say about gift giving in a tone that was not miserable? Right then,schooling his face into something that wasn't like shock John stared off at the golden rock,why had it become smaller?

"The rock is melting!" John complained and sherlock sprung into action,producing a small glass jar and chucking a water bottle's contents inside it,"Drop it here," Sherlock said calmly and he plopped the rock inside,it let out a loud hissing sound,"turn off all the lights,now!" Sherlock's tone wasn't commanding,but it sounded as if he was twelve year old agin. John rushed and flipped the main switch off,the fireplace emitting a yellow light on them both.

"Right,what next?" John asked him, while sherlock walked up to him and John stepped back out of reflex. "Phone flashlight please." Sherlock said coolly and tugged at John's sweater till their slippers were touching each other and raised the glass jar above their heads as John shone his flashlight at the jar.

The rock had settled down,but bubbles of gold powder were swirling about in a clockwise manner and still making a hissing sound above their heads and while John looked at it with utter fascination Sherlock had a little prank up his sleeve coming right up,"So it is a lava lamp? It's going to be like this forever?" 

sherlock scoffed and hummed in his throat,"Golden rain!" he shouted before dumping the whole jar on John's head,the man jumped a little and caught his hand to dump whatever water was left inside the jar,the rock landing on the carpet with a dull thud.

"Christ sherlock," John's busy carding his fingers trying to get rid of the Lead Iodide "that was a chemical you just dropped on my head!" too late it had spilled a little over his sweater as well so he huffed in vain,glaring at his friend's little prank.

"John as ever you see but do not observe," Sherlock fought to keep his voice stable but ended up finishing his sentence with his hand over his stomach,"precipitates are.." he wheezed again,thinking he was explaining a middle school kid about chemistry,"unreactive in nature! your hair and mine are alright,stop with the fretting!"

John shook his head at the thought that sherlock could ever do something just a little bit less show off types to impress him,what had been a small science experiment turned really pretty to on his hair,sticking and drying up faster than what he had thought. Perhaps it seemed funny to him,but he couldn't help stare at sherlock as he broke out laughing with his eyes turning into crescents and joined him too,laughing at how his curls were plopped on his face and he seemed to be glimmering from the light of the fireplace. He could get used to these pranks,if shooting the walls didn't bother him.


End file.
